On the morning of September 11, the opening ceremony of the class of 2016 of College of Energy at Xiamen University was held in A221, Hemu Building. Dean of College of Energy Li Ning, Secretary Sun Ziguang, Miao Huifang, Gong Shufeng, Instructor Huang Shiyu, Class Advisers of freshmen Li Shuirong and Huang Zijing, 55 freshmen, 39 masters, 13 doctors and some representatives of the senior students attended the ceremony. Vice Secretary Ma Zhaohai chaired the ceremony.

Firstly, we played an introduction video about College of Energy, including the research directions of the college, a brief introduction to the subject orientations and the faculty. Then Dean Professor Li Ning delivered a speech. First of all, he, on behalf of the whole faculty, expressed warm welcome to the new students. Then he took the first and second industrial revolution as a starting point, illustrating the importance of energy industry for the national development. Also, he cited the ratio of energy companies in TOP500 enterprises to make everyone realize the current opportunities and challenges, and urge them to be devoted to the study and engaged in the research. Then he explained what is “Architecture T”. He hoped the students can not only have a wide range of social visions and have their own understanding of cognition, but also can have profound professional knowledge and skills, so that they can become competitive talents in the future.

Next, Dean Li Ning introduced the abundant resources of the college. First is experimental internships and research strengths, followed by a wide range of international exchanges: the collaborative cultivation with University of Birmingham, UK, the exchanges and cooperation with Tsinghua University in Taiwan and the fast development of College of Energy in Malaysia. Finally, Dean put forward high expectations to the freshmen. Although College of Energy is small, the degree of participation to every activity is high. He hoped that students can have wide horizons, be interested in scientific research and enjoy their college life. 

Then, the representative of the senior students Qiu Dekun made a speech. He expressed welcome to the new students and shared his stories about how he grew up in his first year here. At last, he put forward 4 points which are important to the study and life and suggested that everyone can accomplish them.

The following student who made a speech was Zhen Zhexiong, the representative of the freshmen. He shared his views on college life and his changes of attitudes. He thought that each of us should shoulder our responsibilities. Finally, he ended the speech with his understanding of the school motto and the spirit of Tan Kah Kee. After the speech, All the attendees took a photo together in front of the Hemu Building.

After the ceremony, the recipient of “Minjiang Scholar Award Professor Wang Zhaolin from Institute of Energy Efficiency and Engineering brought us a special speech about the future of our country’s energy industry. Current challenges and countermeasures were briefly discussed and he hoped that our students can be patient enough to do research and contribute to our country. The first lecture opened the door of energy for all the freshmen.